Geo Multi-Site DNS Load Balancer

Kemp’s DNS based Global Site Load Balancer (GSLB) enables customers to provide availability, scaling and resilience for applications that are geographically distributed across multiple locations. This includes multi-data center environments used to host private clouds, multi-public cloud environments with services spanning platforms such as Azure and AWS as well as hybrid environments where applications are deployed across both public and private cloud. Customers leverage GSLB to keep services online and available while ensuring that they perform efficiently and deliver optimal user experience. The capabilities provided by GEO LoadMaster are like those made possible with hosted services such as Dyn DNS.

GSLB Use Cases

Whenever applications span multiple locations, logic is required to control how traffic gets distributed across all possible targets. While there are several use cases for GSLB in these type of application environments, the most common are driven by the following deployment models:

Use Cases

Deployment Model

Active/Active

In these type of deployments, endpoints in an application operate across multiple sites simultaneously. This type of architecture involves an application where all frontends always have access to needed back end data to successfully serve incoming requests. GSLB is used to measure client load at each participating site and ensure that requests are distributed for optimal performance. Additional logic may also be implemented to steer clients to their closest possible target for shortest round trip communication times.

Failover (DRaaS)

One of the most common deployment models, using an alternate data center or cloud infrastructure as a backup to the primary production environment is a tried and true method for traditional enterprise application environments. This is often referred to as a Failover or DR-as-a-Service (DRaaS) model. In these cases, the secondary or tertiary target may be in a hot or warm standby state where the environment is operational but there may be a few steps required to bring application services online in the event of disaster. In this case, GSLB is used to determine when the primary site has failed as well as when services in the failover location has become operational to minimize downtime and ensure a smooth transition of services.

Hybrid

While similar in ways both to both the Active/Active and Failover (DRaaS), hybrid deployment models are most often used when introducing public cloud services to an already existing private cloud environment. In this scenario, GSLB is leveraged to control when traffic should be steered to the public cloud component of the application infrastructure (e.g. when unexpected load occurs and services should be bursted) as well as what traffic should be steered there (e.g. traffic from specific regions or data centers.

By using Kemp’s GEO LoadMaster for GSLB services, customers can efficiently address these use cases with an intuitive and cost-effective solution.

Efficiency and Security

Application resources are of little value if they are not efficiently used. By deploying GSLB services, resources across a multi-site are better leveraged by monitoring connections and performance of each location and steering traffic across the environment based on real time load as well as prediction of which site will deliver the best user experience based on location. Optional DNS Firewall Services such as IP Reputation rules subscription and the ability to scale near linearly with allocated memory allows GEO LoadMaster to help protect your applications from DDoS attacks and ensure optimal user experience

Get the Most Out of Your Existing Investment

GEO LoadMaster is available as a standalone virtual appliance as well as an add-on service to LoadMaster across all form factors. Regardless of how you choose to deploy, you can be assured that Kemp’s integrated local application delivery traffic management and global site load balancing solution will help to optimize and protect your application infrastructure. An intuitive API means that GEO LoadMaster can be easily integrated with existing IPAM and DNS management solutions.